1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fish hooks and more specifically to fish hooks that are both non-snagging and, upon penetration of the fish hook into the mouth of a fish, automatically clamps the fish hook to the mouth of the fish.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of fish hooks include spring loaded guards which contact the barb end of a fish hook to prevent the hook from being snagged by weeds, logs or underwater objects. These fish hooks are usually referred to as non-snagging fish hooks. Prior art non-snagging fishhooks solve the single problem of preventing the fish hook from being snagged by covering the barbed end of the fish hook with a wire guard which is normally under a predetermined amount of tension. The tension is obtained by pressing the guard against the barb of the fish hook. This tension prevents underwater objects such as weeds, logs, etc. from snagging the hook. If the tension is too light, the guard will open prematurely and the fish hook will snag on weeds. If, however, the tension of the guard is too great, it may not retract from the barbed end of the hook when a fish strikes and could prevent a fish from being caught.
The present invention is a non-snagging fish hook which can prevent the fish hook from being snagged by underwater weeds, and, in addition, also clamps the fish hook to the mouth of the caught fish to prevent loosing the fish. The invention uses a fish hook having a guard that is not in tension until the guard is urged to move by contacting an obstacle or the upper or lower jaw of the mouth of a fish at the time it bites.
The present invention provides a non-snagging fish hook which provides a non-snagging feature which can prevent the hook from being snagged and a clamping feature which clamps the fish hook to the mouth of the fish.